An Allegory Of Joy And Melancholy
Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen, 1623

This painting is by Abraham Janssens, a significant figure in Flemish art at the beginning of the 17th century. Janssens was born in Antwerp and received his early training under the Flemish artist and collector Jan Snellinck.
Janssens’ mature style was much influenced by his travels in Italy, where he lived in Rome between 1597 and 1602. There he absorbed the lessons of Raphael and Caravaggio before returning to Antwerp in 1602. He soon established a reputation in his home country, where he became the most prominent painter until the return of Peter Paul Rubens from Italy in 1608.
An Allegory of Joy and Melancholy shows two figures, with joy represented by the young woman in the foreground and melancholy as the haggard older figure behind. The gilt tazza in the painting relates to the Ashmolean’s collection of Northern Renaissance metalwork, where comparable examples can be found. Similar items to the decanter held by the figure of joy feature in the museum’s extensive collection of Dutch and English glassware.
The Ashmolean holds works by other significant Flemish artists of the period, including Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and David Teniers the Younger. Janssens’ An Allegory of Joy and Melancholy now joins them there.
More information
Title of artwork, date
An Allegory Of Joy And Melancholy, 1623
Date supported
2016
Medium and material
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
122 x 102cm
Gifted by
Jean Greer

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